Chapter 17.08
DEFINITIONS
Sections:
17.08.010 Definitions.
As used in this title, the following words and phrases shall mean:
(1) “Access” means the right to cross between public and private property allowing pedestrians and vehicles to enter and leave the property.
(2) “Advertising” means the publication or causing to be published of any material relating to disposition of interests in a land development which has been prepared for public distribution by any means of communication.
(3) “Agent” means any person who represents, or acts for or on behalf of, a developer in disposing of interests in a land development and includes a real estate broker as defined in ORS 695.010(8), but does not include an attorney at law whose representation of another person consists solely of rendering legal services.
(4) “Alley” means a minor street primarily for service access to the back or side of properties abutting other streets.
(5) “Blanket encumbrance” means a trust deed or mortgage or mechanic’s lien or other lien reflecting a financial encumbrance, securing or evidencing money debt and affecting lands to be subdivided or affecting more than one lot, parcel, unit, or interest of subdividing land; or an agreement affecting more than one lot, parcel, unit or interest by which the developer holds the subdivision under an option, contract to purchase or trust agreement, except a lien or other encumbrance arising as a result of the imposition of a tax assessment by a public authority so long as no portion thereof is past due.
(6) “Block” means an area of land within a subdivision which area may be entirely bounded on all sides by streets or highways (except alleys), railroad right-of-way, unsubdivided land or water courses.
(7) “Building line” means a line on a plat indicating the limit beyond which buildings or structures may not be erected. If no line is shown on the plat, the building line shall be constructed as defined or set forth in the county’s zoning ordinance.
(8) “Community water supply system” means a domestic water supply source or distribution system which serves more than three single residences or other users for the purpose of supplying water for household uses, but is neither a municipal water supply system nor a public utility water supply system.
(9) “Comprehensive plan” means a plan adopted by the county pursuant to ORS Chapter 197 and in compliance with statewide planning goals, a coordinated land use map and policy statement of the county that interrelates all functional and natural systems and activities relating to the use of lands, including but not limited to sewer and water systems, transportation systems, educational systems, recreational facilities and natural resources and air and water quality management programs. “Comprehensive” means all-inclusive, both in terms of the geographic area covered by the plan and functional and natural activities and systems occurring in the area covered by the plan. The plan is an expression of public policy in the form of goals, objectives and policy statements, maps and standards and guidelines, and is the basis for this title and other rules, regulations and ordinances which are intended to implement the policies expressed through the plan.
(10) “Contiguous land” means parcels of land under the same ownership which abut each other.
(11) “County engineer” means the individual appointed or designated by the county court to represent the engineering interests of the county.
(12) “Cross section” means a profile of the ground surface perpendicular to the center line of a street, stream, or valley bottom.
(13) “Curb lines” means the line dividing the roadway from the planting strip of a footway; meaning the inside (street side) of the curb.
(14) “Developer” means any person, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity that creates or proposes to create a land development, and includes any agent of a developer.
(15) “Disposition” includes sale, lease for more than one year, option assignment, award by lottery or as a prize or any offer or solicitation of an offer to do any of the foregoing concerning a land development or any part of a land development.
(16) “Easement” means a grant of the right to use a parcel of land for specific purposes, where ownership of the land is not transferred.
(17) “Fire break” means a break in the ground cover fuels as specified by the fire protection agency involved or commission.
(18) “Flood” means an overflow of water onto lands not normally covered by water.
(19) “Flood hazard area” means the relatively flat area or lowlands adjoining the channel of a river, stream, or watercourse, or lake, or reservoir which has been or may be covered by a flood.
(20) “Frontage” means all property fronting on one side of a street and measured along the street line, between intersecting and intercepting streets or between a street and a right-of-way, waterway, end of a dead end, or city boundary.
(21) “Interest” includes a lot or parcel, and a share, undivided interest or membership which includes the right to occupy the land overnight, and a lessee’s interest in land for more than three years or less than three years if the interest may be renewed under the terms of the lease for a total period more than three years. “Interest” does not include any interest in a condominium as that term is defined in ORS 91.505 or any security interest under a land sales contract, trust deed or mortgage.
(22) “Land development” means the subdividing or partitioning of land for any purpose into parcels or the creation of units or parcels for the purpose of sale or lease for a term of one year or more, and includes the creation of a condominium, a planned development, or any division of a similar nature. The term also includes the intent for disposition of any land, whether contiguous or not, including any land divided, lots, parcels, units or interests offered as a part of a common promotional plan of advertising and disposition where the land development is offered for disposition by a single developer or a group of developers acting in concert. If the land is contiguous or is known, designated or advertised as a common unit or by a common name, the land shall be presumed, without regard to the number of lots covered by each individual offering, to be offered for disposition as a part of a common promotional plan.
(23) “Lot” means a unit of land that is created by a subdivision of land.
(a) “Lot area” means the total horizontal net area within the lot lines of a lot; meaning the square footage of a lot that is free from public and private road rights-of-way or easements.
(b) “Lot, corner” means a lot abutting on two or more streets, other than alleys, where the intersection of the abutting streets does not exceed 135 degrees.
(c) “Lot depth” means the average horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
(d) “Lot lines” means the property lines bounding a lot.
(e) “Lot line, front” means the lot line separating a lot from a street other than an alley, and in the case of a corner lot, the shortest lot lines along a street other than an alley.
(f) “Lot line, rear” means the lot line that is opposite and most distant from the front lot line. In the case of an irregular, triangular, or other odd-shaped lot, a line 10 feet in length within the lot, parallel to, and at a maximum distance from, the front lot line.
(g) “Lot line, side” means any lot line other than a front or rear lot line bounding a lot.
(h) “Lot, through or double frontage” means a lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets other than alleys.
(i) “Lot width” means the average horizontal distance between the side lot lines, measured at right angles to the lot depth at a point midway between the front and rear lot lines.
(24) “Map” means a final diagram, drawing, or other writing concerning a partition.
(25) “Municipal water supply system” means a domestic water supply source and distribution system owned and operated by a city or a county; or owned and operated by a special district or other public corporation which has independent tax-levying powers to support the system and which supplies water to a total of 1,000 or more households.
(26) “Negotiate” means any activity preliminary to the execution of a binding agreement for the sale of land in a subdivision or partition, including but not limited to advertising, solicitation and promotion of the sale of such land.
(27) “Offer” includes every inducement, solicitation, or encouragement of a person to acquire a lot, unit, parcel, or interest in land.
(28) “Owner” means the owner of the title to the real property or the authorized agent thereof, or the contract purchaser of real property, of record as shown on the last available complete tax assessment roll or county clerk’s record.
(29) “Parcel” means a unit of land that is created by a partitioning of land.
(30) “Partition” means an act of partitioning land or an area or tract of land partitioned as defined in subsection (31) of this section.
(31) “Partition land” means to divide land into two or three parcels of land within a calendar year, but does not include:
(a) A division of land resulting from lien foreclosure, foreclosure or recorded contract for the sale of real property, or the creation of cemetery lots;
(b) An adjustment of a property line by the relocation of a common boundary where an additional unit of land is not created, and where the existing unit of land reduced in size by the adjustment complies with the applicable zoning requirements including minimum lot size;
(c) The division of land resulting from the recording of a subdivision, PUD, or condominium plat;
(d) A sale or grant by a person to a public agency or public body for state highway, county road, city street or other right-of-way purposes; provided, that such road or right-of-way complies with the applicable comprehensive plan provisions or provisions of other land use approvals. Any property divided by the sale or grant of land for such a highway, road, street or other right-of-way shall continue to be considered a single unit of land until such time as the property is further subdivided.
(32) “Partition plat” means a final map and other writing containing all the descriptions, locations, specifications, provisions and information concerning a major or minor partition.
(33) “Person” means a natural person, firm, partnership, association, social or fraternal organization, corporation, trust, estate, receiver, syndicate, branch of government, or any group or combination acting as a unit.
(34) “Planned unit development” means the development of an area of land as a single entity for a number of dwelling units or a number of uses, according to a plan which does not necessarily correspond in lot size, bulk or type of dwelling, density, lot coverage, or required open space to the standard regulations otherwise required by this title.
(35) “Plat” means a final subdivision plat, replat or partition plat.
(36) “Property line adjustment” means a relocation or elimination of all or a portion of the common property line between abutting properties that does not create an additional lot or parcel.
(37) “Public utility water system” means a domestic water supply source and distribution system supplying water for household uses, owned and operated by a person subject to regulation by the Public Utility Commissioner of Oregon and supplying water to a total of 500 or more households.
(38) “Public water system” means a system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 individuals.
(39) “Replat” means a final map of the reconfiguration of lots and easements of a recorded subdivision or partition plat.
(40) “Right-of-way” means the area between the boundary lines of a street, road, or other easement.
(41) “Road” or “street” means a public or private way that is created to provide ingress or egress for persons to one or more lots, parcels, areas, or tracts of land, excluding a private way that is created to provide ingress to such land in conjunction with the use of such land for forestry, mining, or agricultural purposes.
(a) “Alley” means a narrow street through a block primarily for vehicular service access to the back or side of properties abutting another street.
(b) “Arterial” means a street of considerable continuity which is primarily a traffic artery for intercommunication among large areas, and so designated by the county’s comprehensive plan or by the commission.
(c) “Bicycle route” means a right-of-way for bicycle traffic.
(d) “Collector” means a street supplementary to the arterial street system and a means of intercommunication between this system and small areas used to some extent for through traffic and to some extent for access to abutting properties, and so designated by the county’s comprehensive plan or by the commission.
(e) “Cul-de-sac” means dead end street. A short street having one end open to traffic and being terminated by a vehicle turnaround.
(f) “Half street” means a portion of the width of a street usually along the edge of a subdivision, where the remaining portion of the street could be provided in another subdivision.
(g) “Marginal access street” means a minor street parallel and adjacent to a major arterial street providing access to abutting properties.
(h) “Local street” means a street intended primarily for access to abutting properties.
(i) “Stubbed street” means a street having only one outlet for vehicular traffic and which is intended to be extended or continued to serve future subdivisions or developments on adjacent lands.
(42) “Roadway” means that portion of a street or road right-of-way developed for vehicular traffic.
(43) “Sale (or sell)” includes every disposition or transfer of land in a subdivision or partition or an interest or estate therein.
(44) “Series partition” means more than one partition of a parcel resulting in the creation of four or more parcels over a period of more than one year.
(45) “Sidewalk” means a pedestrian walkway with permanent surfacing.
(46) “Subdivide land” means to divide land into four or more lots within a calendar year.
(47) “Subdivision” means either an act of subdividing land or an area or a tract of land subdivided.
(48) “Subdivider” means any person who causes land to be subdivided into a subdivision for himself or for others, or who undertakes to develop a subdivision, but does not include a public agency or officer authorized by law to make subdivisions.
(49) “Use” means the purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained. (Ord. 326 § 2 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 231 § 1 (Exh. A), 2010; Ord. 19 § 1.070, 2003)